CCB Magazine

Mathilde Ramadier is a 28 years old author from France. Alberto Madrigal is 33 years old and comes from Spain and works as a comic illustrator. Both live in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Both have published a book: Berlin 2.0, a comic about Berlin as a magnet for artists and creative people, a declaration of love for the city on the one hand, a warning signal for creative people on the other. They say: revolt! We can't go on like this. We met the two artists for a talk.      
                     

INTERVIEW   JENS THOMAS
 

CCB Magazine: Hello Mathilde and Alberto. You both live in Kreuzberg. With which goals did you come to Berlin?

Mathilde: I came to work and live here. Berlin is different than other cities. I have known Berlin for ten years. I have been here for five years.

Alberto: I was actually just visiting here, that was eight years ago. Then I stayed here. I knew very little about Berlin. I knew almost nothing about the Berlin art scene, I only got to know it here.

CCB Magazine: Why did you leave your home countries?

Mathilde: I come from Provence in France and lived in Paris for six years, but at some point I couldn't go on. Paris is too crowded, too expensive, an apartment now costs three times as much. To live in the city center is almost impossible. One reason why I came to Berlin was also the economic crisis with high unemployment in European countries. I feel very comfortable in Berlin today. I love being able to speak three languages every day. In France I would only speak French.

Alberto: I come from near Valladolid in Spain, from a very small town. There is no art scene there, there is only one in Spain, Madrid or Barcelona. When I arrived in Berlin, I had nothing at all: first I lived in a flat share, then I took my own apartment with my wife. We had to take what we could get. Berlin was a completely different world for me then, so big, so far, the art scene is present everywhere here. But otherwise I wouldn't have gone to Germany, except to Berlin. Berlin is no ordinary German city. In Berlin there is also a big internationales network of comic artists, I like that. 

Berlin was a completely different world for me then, so big, so far, the art scene is present everywhere

CCB Magazine: You have just published a book about Berlin together. "Berlin 2.0." What is it about?

Mathilde: The book is about Berlin as a magnet of the creative scene, it's a critical examination of the local work situation. The book is about the Parisian literature student Margot, who moves to Berlin in search of a job and creative input. Margot experiences a bitter disappointment when she struggles with mini-jobs and gentrification becomes an everyday occurrence. She hops from job to job, but basically never gets there.

CCB Magazine: Is this story also your own?

Mathilde: Everything that is written in the story is true, just like Margot I experienced Berlin. In the five years since I've been here, I've had up to 20 side jobs and had more bad than good experiences. The story is therefore a processing of my experiences and impressions. The way of telling the story also helped me to gain distance. There was a time, three years ago, when I was incredibly angry about this city.

CCB Magazine: Angry, why?

Mathilde: The working situation in Berlin is not easy, especially for artists. You work non-stop and basically earn nothing. And in every job I got to know people who feel the same way. People rush from job to job and some of them don't even have social security. Many live on the poverty line, they don't even earn 1,000 euros. That really scared me. The book helped me to find my inner peace. Today I feel better.

Berlin 2.0, published by Futuropolis, a French publisher. Cover © Futurepolis


CCB Magazine: What has changed since then?

Mathilde: Today I work as an author and translator and can make a living from it. At least for half a year I know how to go on. But I earn 80 percent of my money in France, not in Berlin. I work as a freelancer, mainly for French media. But I no longer need a side job.

Alberto: For me, it was exactly the opposite: four years ago I had a job in an agency that produced video games. Today I work as a freelancer. But it's not easy to make a living from drawing comics. I mainly work for a publishing house in Italy, the rest is made up of other jobs.

CCB Magazine: In your book you criticize the startup scene in Berlin. Why?

Mathilde: We are not criticizing the startups per se, we are criticizing the neoliberal philosophy of many startups. We criticize the fact that today you start up as fast as possible, build up a team as quickly as possible and then disappear from the stage again in a few years - and then also dismiss employees again.

We do not criticize the startups themselves, we criticize the neoliberal philosophy of many startups

CCB Magazine: But isn't it also something beautiful that people have ideas and dare to do something?

Mathilde: Yes, that is actually something very beautiful. But our observation is that mentally, in this scene, the faster-and-further prevails. But good ideas need time, they need passion, the good things often grow slowly. In the startup scene I have met many people who are younger than me, who have no idea about life but believe in the big picture. That often goes wrong. But it's important to think of society as a whole when you start up. Many are only managers of themselves.

CCB Magazine: Mathilde, you are an author, Alberto you are a comic artist. How do you approach such a project together and how do you realize such a story together?

Mathilde: I wrote the story, Alberto drew the story.

Alberto: I didn't know too much about the subject before. We got to know each other through this story. I learned a lot from Mathilde in terms of content. In terms of drawing, I translated what you can't put into words. Comic drawing is like a mixture of film and novel: you tell a story like an author, but with different means.

CCB Magazine: How did you come to draw, Alberto?

Alberto: Actually I am a programmer. But at some point I realized that this was not enough for me. So I started to draw. Although at the beginning I could not imagine that you can make money with it. Ten years ago, when I was 23 years old, I decided to simply quit my job. Since then I have published two books, the first is an autobiography, the second a comic about the working life of the artist, it's about passion. Today I live from drawing comics.

CCB Magazine: Is the comic also a means to realize such a topic, a serious issue, in a different way? Does the comic create a different approach?

Mathilde: Yeah, I'm sure. With the book we want to reach a wider audience, which is certainly better achieved in this form than by publishing a non-fiction book full of facts, for example. But our main concern was to show that the image of Berlin today, Berlin as a creative land of plenty and as a metropolis of creativity, is not correct. Berlin is great, yes, we love this city. That's why the book is also a declaration of love. On the other hand, it's a warning signal. The media in France and Spain talk about Berlin as if it were pure paradise. Our book is meant to convey this to the readers: Attention, first grow up before you come to Berlin! Because it's also a struggle here, good paid work is scarce, even though living space is still cheaper than elsewhere.

Alberto:I think such a story can be especially helpful for the younger generation. Many have little time today. A comic reads faster than a novel, but that doesn't make it superficial. Currently, the book is only available in French, but it's planned to be published in other languages as well.

CCB Magazine: Your book is not that funny.

Mathilde: Yes (laughs), the book is a serious story, it's a "serious" subject. There are no gags. A French newspaper recently said the book is half sweet half salty, like a Berlin breakfast. The book is like a relationship; a love letter with difficult episodes and moments. There is no good or bad, it's not black or white, it's a mirror of time.

We can't keep talking about Berlin and go on like this!

CCB Magazine: One appeal of your book is "revolt". What should people be outraged about?

Mathilde: We can't go on like this. In Berlin they say it's easy to live on 900 euros a month. Okay, but is that good? Is that a model for the future? We can't keep talking ourselves into Berlin and go on like this.

CCB Magazine: What would be the solution?

Mathilde: This way of working, through mini-jobs and unpaid activities, cannot be a model for the future. It's also a kind of human right to be fairly rewarded for good work. Therefore, minimum wages are a first right way. The interesting thing is, when I started this story three years ago, there was no minimum wage in Germany. When I heard that there is no minimum wage, I was totally shocked! I thought, this can't be true. You are allowed to work full-time in Germany and only earn 600 Euros? That is legal? The minimum wage exists in many European countries as well, in France it has existed for 30 years, why not here? Now it exists. But our generation must continue to be outraged. They must become active.

CCB Magazine: Will you stay here? What are you going to do?

Mathilde: I will stay here for the time being, how long, I don't know. I think that in 10 years I will live somewhere else, I just love to travel. And I miss the sun already very much.

Alberto: I have no idea. Now I'm here for now. And I'm going to be a father soon! It will be exciting and completely new for me. We'll see.

CCB Magazine: Mathilde and Alberto, thanks for the interview, good luck, Hasta la vista!

Profile of Mathilde Ramadier on Creative City Berlin

Profile of Alberto Madrigal on Creative City Berlin